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Wednesday, February 13, 2013

MrFothergills comes to the party again!

I received another package in the mail from MrFothergills, for which I am very grateful. I felt bad last year as it really was not such a good year, and I thought they might banish me from their mailing list! I think they must be gardeners though and realize that not every year is a year of bumper crops. Even my neighbours garden flunked last year! This year though, we are all geared up! I had already purchased quite a few seeds, and now I realise that my little garden is going to be stretched to its limits. Mmm I might have to expand... I have some ideas :)

This is the list of the seeds that I received:

Grasses: (I think these will be used in the public area near the pool.)
Blue fescue
Bunny tails
Green fountain
Snowy woodrush

We are going away to Brisbane for the first week of March, and when we return it is going to be all about the garden. Traditionally April is when the weather starts to turn from the hot and humid days of the wet season to our more pleasant "winter". That is our growing season, and so the last few weeks of March will be soil building and preparation time. I have never done very well with starting off seeds in little pots and transplanting them, and so I really love the seed tape.
I am however going to try a different thing this time - I am going to grow tomatoes in polystyrene boxes. I tried potting mix last year and had mixed results - I think I might make my own mix with crusher dust (full of minerals) cocopeat and compost, and five in one mix which is a mix of manures and composts. Will my own homemade compost have the bacterial wilt in it if it comes from my soil?
On another note for Australian readers, there is a marvellous give away at mindfullygreen - have a look!

Kathryn,That seed tape is marvellous - the seeds are embedded at just the right intervals, so you just lay it on the ground and cover up with some fine soil. I have heard of people making their own with toilet paper and a little (natural, flour and water I think) glue as well.

Your garden choices sound wonderful! I'm looking forward to reading about your crops and flowers. I love sweet peas, but I'm told it's too hot for them to produce well in our area (SW Florida), but I'm thinking I should try them in the autumn.

Lesa,I keep trying sweet peas since they are quite my favourite flower. I did get some to grow once, but I figure if I can get snow peas to grow, then surely I can grow sweet peas... Always positive :)

Annabelle - all the the more reason to plant them out in the open where I want the area filled in with low maintenance plants. I hope you don't have a hard time removing them - their roots can go quite deep.

I must get to ordering my seeds soon, too. I wish I had your enthusiasm for vegetables, I know nothing tastes better than homegrown but for some reason I just don't get around to tending a vegetable garden like I should. I start a few thousand flowers from seed every spring and I know how tricky it can be. So far I haven't had much trouble with wilt. Watering is the hard part for me; too much or too little, difficult to get it just right. I sure am looking forward to seeing your garden grow!

Karen,Your flowers (and entire gardens) are spectacular - no wonder you don't bother about veggies. I can see a spinach border along your flower bed, and some broccoli plants scattered here and there though :)

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Quotes I enjoy

Shipping is a terrible thing to do to vegetables, they probably get jet-lagged, just like people do - Elizabeth Berry

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus" Philippians 4:6-7

The secret of happiness is not found in seeking more,

but in developing the capacity to enjoy less

- paraphrased from Socrates quote

“See how nature—trees, flowers, grass—grows in silence; see the stars, the moon and the sun, how they move in silence. We need silence to be able to touch souls.” – Mother Teresa

Nature in all its diversity grants us a glimpse into the heart of God the Father which is nothing but Love.

It is not what you look at that matters, it is what you seeHendry David Thoreau

Making a garden is not a gentle hobby for the elderly,to be picked up and laid down like a game of solitaire. It is a grand passion. It seizes a person whole, and once it has done so he will have to acceptthat his life is going to be radically changed. May SartonPlant Dreaming Deep, 1983

When the trees sing,It doesn't really matterIf you know the song, Or if you know the words,Or even if you know the tune.What really matters is knowing ....That the trees are singing at all.Mattie Stepanek, 1990-2004

To find the universal elements enough; to find the air and the water exhilarating; to be refreshed by a morning walkor an evening saunter;to be thrilled by the stars at night:to be elated over a bird's nestor a wildflower in spring... these are some of the rewards of the simple life.John Burroughs, 1837-1921

Happiness is like a butterfly: the more you chase it, the more it will elude you, but if you turn your attention to other things, it will come and sit softly on your shoulder…”– Thoreau

“Exercise is a dirty word. Every time I hear it I wash my mouth out with chocolate.” ~ Charles M. Schulz

You who walkmaybe with troubled thoughts....Come, enter here and restand may the sweet serenityof growing things....and the heavenly peacebe mirrored in thy soul.by Michael Palmer

Gods GardenThe Lord God planted a gardenIn the first white days of the world,And he set there an angel wardenIn a garment of light enfurled.So near to the peace of HeavenThat the hawk might nest with the wren,For there in the cool of the evenGod walked with the first of men.And I dream that these garden closesWith their shade and their sun-flecked sodAnd their lilies and bowers of roses,Were laid by the hand of God.The kiss of the sun for pardon,The song of the birds for mirth, -One is nearer God’s heart in a gardenThan anywhere else on earth.For He broke it for us in a gardenUnder the olive-treesWhere the angel of strength was the wardenAnd the soul of the world found ease.Dorothy Francis Gurney

Normal day, let me be aware of the treasure you are. Let me learn from you, love you, bless you before you depart. Let me not pass you by in quest of some rare and perfect tomorrow. Let me hold you while I may, for it may not always be so. One day I shall dig my nails into the earth, or bury my face in the pillow, or stretch myself taut, or raise my hands to the sky and want, more than all the world, your return.Mary Jean Iron

There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.Albert Einstein

Rest is not idleness, and to lie sometimes on the grass on a summer day listening to the murmur of water, or watching the clouds float across the sky, is hardly a waste of time."~ John Lubbock******************************************************